Department for Transport

Diesel Vehicles: Imports

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government, whether they intend to ban the importation of vehicles produced by those German car manufacturers that are being investigated by the German anti-trust authorities for alleged collusion to misrepresent diesel emissions until that investigation has concluded.

lord callanan: This is a matter for the relevant competition authorities and we await their findings. There are no plans to ban the importation of vehicles from the manufacturers that are reportedly under investigation.

Trains: Standards

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what comparative assessment they have made of (1) new Intercity Express bi-mode trains, and (2) fully electric trains,in respect of their (a) acceleration, and (b) overall speed.

lord callanan: Hitachi Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR) are testing the Intercity Express Trains in diesel and electric to ensure they can deliver existing timetables and offer journey time reductions once electrification is complete. We remain confident that journey time improvements will be delivered. Testing is ongoing in the run up to the Intercity Express Train introduction on the GWR network.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Electric Vehicles

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the capacity of the electricity grid to cope withadditional demandresulting fromincreased numbers of electric cars and buses.

lord prior of brampton: The Government has set out its ambition for almost all cars and vans to be zero emissions by 2050, and that sales of new conventional cars and vans will end by 2040. By setting these long-term goals, the Government can ensure that there is plenty of time to ready the grid for the mass transition towards cleaner, more efficient vehicles.We have regular discussions with all the key parties in the electricity systems – including energy suppliers, network operators and National Grid – to ensure that all parties are prepared for electric vehicle take up. The capacity market is our principal tool for ensuring we have sufficient capacity to meet demand. National Grid use the latest trends in supply and demand (including from electric vehicles) when advising on the volume of capacity to secure through these auctions.Distribution Network Operators forecast the likely uptake of plug-in electric vehicles, in discussion with Government, in order to shape their investment plans. Government is also taking powers as part of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill to require all new chargepoints sold or installed in the UK to be smart enabled. Smart charging can help reduce the impact of electric vehicles on the electricity network by ensuring that they can flex to the grid’s need, avoiding existing peaks in demand.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Israel: Palestinians

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will propose measures to improve the status quo for the people of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, for humanitarian reasons and to prepare the way for permanent peace negotiations.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK Government regularly raises with the Government of Israel concerns about the situation for Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, and pushes for an easing of restrictions. We are firmly committed to the promotion and protection of human rights, and call upon all parties to abide by International Humanitarian Law. Ultimately peace will only come through fresh negotiations between the parties, which the UK fully supports, and it is critical that Israel and the Palestinians take advantage of any momentum gathered through international efforts.

Saudi Arabia: Religious Freedom

the lord bishop of leeds: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of freedom of religion or belief in Saudi Arabia.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Saudi Arabia remains a human rights priority country because of the restrictions on the freedom of religion and belief, including the prohibition on publicly practising religions other than Islam. The UK Government strongly supports the right to freedom of religion or belief as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent international human rights instruments.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

baroness northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Foreign Secretary intends to meet the Iranian Foreign Minister or members of his team at the next UN General Assembly; and if so, whetherhe will seek to ensure that the British Ambassador to Iran can visit the detained British-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, particularly in the light of concerns about her health.

baroness northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to make an appeal to Iran to release Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe,in the context ofthe theme of the General Debate of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, Focusing on people: striving for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Foreign Secretary met the Iranian Foreign Minister on 18 September and raised the cases of our British/Iranian dual-national detainees, including Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe. I also raised our dual national detainees with the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

baroness northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they are taking forward the request from Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's legal representative that an independent medical commission should examine her for her fitness to remain in prison; and whether they intend to seek assurances that any such assessment will be objective.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We are not aware of any request to assist on this matter from either the legal representative or family of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, but we will consider what assistance we may be able to offer should a request be made.

Israel: Palestinians

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports thatHamas leadershave offeredthe government of Israel a long-term ceasefire in exchange for the blockade on the Gaza Strip being lifted.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​While we have not made any assessment of this issue, we have been clear that we believe that a durable ceasefire agreement should ensure that Hamas and other terrorist groups permanently end rocket fire and other terrorist attacks against Israel, and that all terrorist groups in Gaza should disarm. Our policy on Hamas remains clear: Hamas must renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previously signed agreements. Hamas must make credible movement towards these conditions, which remain the benchmark against which its intentions should be judged. We call on those in the region with influence over Hamas to encourage them to take these steps.

Israel: Palestinians

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding reports of the eviction of families living in East Jerusalem.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Minister of State for the Middle East issued a statement on 6 September condemning the eviction of the Shamanseh family from the property they have lived in for decades in East Jerusalem. The UK considers such evictions contrary to international law and they cause unnecessary suffering. The increased trajectory of evictions, demolitions and settlements in East Jerusalem undermines the prospects for peace.

Israel: Burma

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of Israel has supplied weapons to the government of Myanmar.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We have not made representations on this issue. Under the EU arms embargo to Myanmar, the UK would not export military equipment to Israel if we believed that the ultimate end user destination would be Burma.

Palestinians: Freedom of Expression

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Palestinian Authority following reports of restrictions being imposed on free speech and the arrest of activists who have criticised Palestinian Authority leaders.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government stands up for and strongly supports the right of freedom of expression. We have concerns about the contraction of space for free speech in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Consul-General to Jerusalem raised our concerns over the arrest and detention of human rights activists and advocates of free speech with the Palestinian Authority on 10 September.

Bahrain: Technical Assistance

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 31 July (HL931), how the £1.52 million from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund for technical assistance to Bahrain in 2016–17 wasbroken down by head of expenditure; and how much was actually spent under each of those heads.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: In 2016-17, the UK continued to work with the Government of Bahrain – including through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) – to encourage progress on human rights in areas which included focusing on building effective and accountable institutions, strengthening the rule of law and justice reform. All of our work aims to support these institutions to operate in line with international standards, including on human rights, through sharing UK expertise and experience. Any training provided by or on behalf of the UK Government fully complies with our domestic and international human rights obligations. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not in a position to make precise figures available as we have a duty to maintain the confidentiality and confidence of our partners.

Department for Education

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

baroness garden of frognal: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many international students with Tier 4 visas gained qualifications in the last academic year for which figures are available.

lord nash: We do not hold information on how many students with a Tier 4 visa gain qualifications each year. However, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects data on those gaining HE qualifications by country of domicile. This shows that in the academic year 2015/16 there were just over 150,000 higher education qualifications obtained at UK Higher Education Institutions by students living in non-EU countries immediately prior to them commencing their studies. Not all these students would have required Tier 4 visas to study in the UK.

T-levels

baroness garden of frognal: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in developing T-level qualifications.

baroness garden of frognal: To ask Her Majesty's Government who is developing T-level qualifications; in what subjects; and at what levels.

baroness garden of frognal: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect T-level qualifications to be available to candidates.

lord nash: The government is creating a world class technical education system. The best way to deliver this successfully is through partnership between government, business experts and leaders and education professionals. We are therefore working closely with these stakeholders and their representative bodies to ensure we get these reforms right.T levels will be shaped by industry professionals and will provide stretching technical content, delivered to industry standards. This will ensure the qualifications have real labour market value and credibility. The first teaching of T levels by a number of providers will commence in September 2020, with all routes available from September 2022.We are planning a public consultation on the design of T levels, to allow all interested organisations and individuals to contribute towards the development of the new programmes. We will provide an update on progress with the development of T levels later this year.

Ministry of Justice

Magistrates' Courts: Newcastle upon Tyne

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether magistrates court proceedings will be heard in Newcastle following the proposed relocation of family proceedings to the Civic Centre; and if not heard in Newcastle, where.

lord keen of elie: HM Courts & Tribunals Service intends that magistrates’ court hearings will continue to be heard in Newcastle following the proposed relocation of civil and family work to the Civic Centre.

Legal Representation

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the results of their review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 in relation to (1) the number of unrepresented litigants compared to the situation prior to the coming into force of the Act, and (2) the outcomes in cases where litigants are unrepresented in cases relating to housing and family law and the criminal courts; and if so, when.

lord keen of elie: The Lord Chancellor is currently considering the planned post-implementation review of recent legal aid reforms and will make an announcement in due course.

Ministry of Defence

Caribbean: Hurricanes and Tornadoes

lord naseby: To ask Her Majesty's Government when relief aircraft at RAF Brize Norton were ordered to be loaded up to fly to the disaster zone affected by Hurricane Irma.

lord naseby: To ask Her Majesty's Government when RAF Brize Norton was informed of the impact of Hurricane Irma and of the need for relief flights.

earl howe: On 6 September 2017 RAF Brize Norton was notified of the potential requirement to provide humanitarian relief flights and on 7 September the station was tasked to prepare those flights. Having identified and prioritised the relief stores required and established which runways remained open following Hurricane Irma's impact, the first aircraft were loaded and dispatched from RAF Brize Norton on 8 September, reaching the Caribbean that night. The Ministry of Defence is providing significant support to the relief efforts in the Caribbean following the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma. Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) MOUNTS BAY was pre-positioned in the region and loaded with aid precisely so we could respond to hurricane damage. So far 60 tonnes of much needed humanitarian aid has been distributed across the region by air. HMS OCEAN arrived in the British Virgin Islands on Friday 22 September with a further 60 tonnes of aid and is helping to deliver humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and engineering tasks. UK military personnel will continue to provide immediate support after Hurricane Maria has passed. Defence activity will remain under constant review and we will continue to work with local authorities to establish what is required.

Caribbean: Hurricanes and Tornadoes

baroness sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK military personnel are engaged in relief efforts in (1) the British Overseas Territories, and (2) other Commonwealth nations, impacted by Hurricane Irma.

earl howe: The Ministry of Defence is providing significant support to the relief efforts in the Caribbean following the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma. As at 21 September 2017, there are 543 UK military personnel in the British Overseas Territories of the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands. 671 personnel are in the Commonwealth nation of Barbados. In addition there are 207 military personnel on RFA MOUNTS BAY, which was pre-positioned in the region ready for the hurricane season. HMS OCEAN arrived in the British Virgin Islands on Friday 22 September with an additional 632 personnel to support relief efforts.